


The Jailbird and the Canary

by Political_Bastards



Category: Political RPF - UK 20th-21st c.
Genre: F/M, Liberal Democrats, M/M, Other
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-08-20
Updated: 2015-08-20
Packaged: 2018-04-16 07:47:36
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,025
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4617165
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Political_Bastards/pseuds/Political_Bastards
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>A friendship, a relationship and a battle for the much loved party.</p>
            </blockquote>





	The Jailbird and the Canary

**Author's Note:**

> A lot of things have happened to the Liberal Democrats in recent years. This tells the story from an OCs point of view, with a friendship with Chris Huhne alongside. From my tumblr.

He was your best friend, you'd known him for years, and now this. How could you refuse? 'Of course I will Chris.'

You first met him in 1999, the year he became an MEP, at conference. He sat quietly near the back, you sat down next to him. It was one of the only empty seats, Liberal Democrat popularity had soared in the years previously. Charles Kennedy was delivering his first speech to conference as leader of the party, you'd helped him on his campaign and told the guy next to you. It was Chris, he introduced himself and he congratulated you for your help in the campaign. You exchanged phone numbers and went out for a coffee.

You didn't meet again until 2001, during the General Election campaign. He recognised you at a rally, and took you for a drink to catch up. He invited you to get a job working for the party, you thought it was a great idea. The election was a success, you got a job and he invited you around to Brussels for a meeting, as an official in the party. He took you to meet some of his colleagues, on of which happened to be Nick Clegg, who you really liked.

They both told you that they had plans to be MPs. You met regularly with Chris over the next three years before he retired in 2004 to focus on his campaign to be an MP. You helped him out, your friendship becoming cemented even more firmly. He took you to meet Vicky, with who you got on really well with and his children loved you.

He won the seat in 2005, helping to win the largest amount of seats for the Lib Dems in over 82 years. Elation in the party was at it's highest, but there were rumours spreading.

Chris invited you to become his personal assistant, you accepted. You spent more and more time with him, both inside and outside of work. It was fun, he quickly became your best friend, irreplaceable. Soon you were offered a job as a member of the executive committee, without hesitation you accepted. After all, nothing could go wrong, everything had been going swimmingly, but something is lurking in the shadows. It soon came to light.

Just months after joining the executive, your boss and party leader, Charles Kennedy, was forced from his position. The man who brought the party its greatest success in years. Chris decided he wanted to be leader and asked for your help in garnering support. You couldn't, you were loyal to Charles through and through. He understood and got on with it. Carina helped him out, but he lost to Menzies Campbell. You were glad in a way, Chris made some brash decisions at the best of times.

A year later Menzies resigned, triggering another leadership contest. He asked you for help again, but didn't pester you. You preferred if Nick were to be leader, but didn't tell him, instead you quietly helped Nick out. You noticed Carina still worked closely with him. The results came in, Chris lost a second time, you phoned him to give him your commiserations. He thanked you, and told you that he had to go as he was busy.

You saw him less and less, as both of you became increasingly busy, you helping to prepare for any impending election which could crop up at any moment, and him with his new job as home affairs spokesman. Despite this you could still see him growing closer to Carina.

In a moment of free time, you arrived at his parliamentary office to confront him. At first he denied it, but you eventually worked it out of him, and he told you of the affair. You threatened to go to Vicky and tell her, only for him to say he'll tell her later. It became clear that he didn't say anything, so you go to their house to do it yourself. You couldn't do it, it would've broken her heart, you left, telling her you're going to be busy for a while.

You didn't see Chris until the day Nick came to the party to ask about the coalition. Instead you avoided him, passing him by with no acknowledgement.

At the 2010 election, you had to say goodbye to some old friends in the party, mainly Lembit Opik, he'd been a good friend, but you also got some new MPs in, which was great. Chris had been part of the coalition negotiating team, meaning you'd had to work with him again. He cornered you after the party voted on the deal, you voted with your old boss, against it.

He asked you how you were, 'Fine' you'd responded. 'Have you told Vicky yet?' No, of course he'd not, but he said he'd tell her soon. You parted ways after that, you felt a little bit guilty for how cold you were towards him.

It had only been seventeen days into the coalition, and you already had problems, namely David Laws and his expenses claims. The press had a field day with it, you asked them to respect his privacy and it quietened down. He resigned from his role as Chief Secretary to the Treasury, being replaced by the former Scottish Secretary, Danny Alexander. Chris is Energy Secretary, you worry about his career should the news of the affair come out.

Your fears were unfounded though, when the news came to light in June 2010, Cabinet Minister Francis Maude came to his side and defended him. After that you began speaking to Chris again, and supported Vicky and their children when they needed you, but kept your distance from Carina, you never liked her.

Relations between you and Chris get better, but you remained annoyed about it. The two of them divorced in early 2011, despite this though things were going well. But it took a turn in May, when Vicky revealed to the Press about the speeding points Chris incurred and passed on to her. You confronted both of them, both telling you it's true, as Chris was keep to keep your friendship on the rails this time.

By February 2012, a hearing had been set in motion, Chris resigned from his Cabinet position as Energy Secretary, being replaced by Ed Davey, to help fight off the charges. You served as a character witness for both of them, knowing them well.

A year later he was found guilty, as was Vicky. They both thanked you for your help. You visited them both in prison and spent some time with their children. On one such occasion of visiting Chris, you find out that Carina left him. Despite your huge dislike of her, you can't help but feel sorry for him.

Over the next few months you visited him a lot. When he's released with a tag, you offered to drive him home. You were busy a lot with the party, but always found time to spend with him. Vicky saw you less and less, preferring to spend time with Denis MacShane, you can't stand him, so kept your distance. You saw Chris more and more in your limited time, he took you out though many times.

In 2014 you came close to the edge, after the local elections and the European elections. All the hard work you'd done over the years, dismantled in one day, mostly by UKIP. The party lost 10 of it's 11 seats. It raised your fears for the General Election in 2015.

It effected you badly, you thought about terminating your membership. Chris stopped you though, he was there for you. He convinced you that you were part of the reason the party had done so well over recent years. He asked you if you would be his girlfriend, partner, saying that you meant the world to him, that you'd always been there when he needed you. Later that week you moved in with him and he helped lighten your mood, getting you back on track.

The party had been optimistic with the election campaign. You supported Nick from the battle bus, briefing journalists on policy and the manifesto. You helped him prepare for the debates, Chris supporting you with your work. It was tough, Labour and the Tories span against you and campaigned hard in Lib Dem seats.

7th of May, one last shot, but there's tension within the party, you can feel it, the nervousness. Chris holds your hand, staying close to you. Over the past year, he'd really shown just how much he loved you. He spent time with you, whenever you were free, nights in, evenings out, weekends away. He was romantic and passionate, focused on you, he made you feel special.

It was 10 O'clock, the exit poll came out. It predicted annihilation, utter devastation. You don't believe it, not after such a positive campaign. You call Nick, he tells you it's possible, Chris holds you tightly. It hits both of you hard, how could it not?

Throughout the early hours of that morning, and the rest of the day, you spent your time calling the now, former MPs, David Laws, Danny Alexander, Ed Davey, Vince Cable, ect. Commiserating with them and thanking them for all their hard work over the years. The final total comes in, you've gone from 57 to 8. 49 people and hundreds of staff, all losing their jobs in one night. Nick resigns after the final result comes in, leaving the party dazed.

It goes through a period similar to that of mourning and the process of finding a new leader begins.. Some people swamped Nick with praise for joining the Government and preventing the Tories from going to far. Others criticised him for destroying the party. You and Chris defend Nick and his team, showing your full support.

Not even a month later, the party was hit by devastating news, Charles Kennedy's death. Your boss, the man who'd been like a Father to the party, supporting everybody else throughout his own problems. He was one of the parties greatest leaders, and a close friend to you. When you heard the news, you and Chris just held each other and cried. It must have been for hours before you left to speak to Nick about it.

The speeches in the Commons, combined with the tributes from everybody else were heart rending. It didn't do much for the parties spirits, but it did make you realise that the party had been hit hard before, but you'd recovered, Charles was evidence of that. You'd be able to recover again, even if it took some time, but memories of Charles could help guide the way.

The funeral lifted some of the weight off of your shoulders, and the party membership was at it's highest for years, as people realised the mistakes they made electing the Tories to govern the country as they had.

The leadership battle came around. Tim Farron won, beating Norman Lamb. Tim wanted to take the party back to the left, another journey for the Lib Dems to take, leading you into the future. Spirits were rising, you felt better than you had in years, knowing that you were venturing into the unknown and Tim, a strong leader would guide the way. Chris was feeling better too, he was getting over his stint in prison, and although he no longer saw his children, he was coping well.

So when Chris proposed to you, you had to say yes. You'd been there for each other at every twist, every turn. Through the positive and the negative. He was your best friend and your lover. You supported each other, made each other happy.

The two of you were going to get married. Both of you were moving in, just as the party was. You'd face criticism together, joining Tim on his journey into the future.

You loved Chris and you had numerous adventures to go on together. This section might be over, but the book is still being written and the next chapter is just about to begin.

 


End file.
